SUNY Downstate Class of 2011

[Kfire326]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I kinda miss this.. heh. I'm posting this from the lounge on the 6th floor by the carrels...obviously procrastinating.

 

[adokotala]

Hey everyone!

Congrats on Downstate and I hope the first week went well!!! I am a year behind you and am working on the Secondary. Although the essays are mostly optional (or "only if this applies to you"), I am hoping to do all 4. I was wondering - how/why did you choose Downstate over other schools? I am from NY and it would be nice to be close to home and to the city, but I was wondering what makes it great?

 

[Soggun]

Hey everyone!

Congrats on Downstate and I hope the first week went well!!! I am a year behind you and am working on the Secondary. Although the essays are mostly optional (or "only if this applies to you"), I am hoping to do all 4. I was wondering - how/why did you choose Downstate over other schools? I am from NY and it would be nice to be close to home and to the city, but I was wondering what makes it great?

For me there were 3 major factors: 1) in NYC - not only close to home but one of the major medical hubs in the world, leading to great opportunities down the road, 2) cost - definitely the best value for your money to go to a state school over a private one, 3) clincial experience - definitely the most important reason for me. from talking to doctors in the area that I've known on a personal basis, I have heard from virtually all of them that when they were going through their residencies, downstate graduates were by far the most prepared and the residents that everyone else looked to for answers. considering that downstate matches extremely well (on the level of many top tier private schools) into residency programs, it seems like this anecdotal evidence is pretty accurate. anyway, best of luck to you in your application process and if you do get accepted, take advantage of the shadow-a-student program (you'll get more info on it) so you can follow one of us around and really see what it's all about.

 

[Kfire326]

Hey everyone!

Congrats on Downstate and I hope the first week went well!!! I am a year behind you and am working on the Secondary. Although the essays are mostly optional (or "only if this applies to you"), I am hoping to do all 4. I was wondering - how/why did you choose Downstate over other schools? I am from NY and it would be nice to be close to home and to the city, but I was wondering what makes it great?

For me there were 3 major factors: 1) in NYC - not only close to home but one of the major medical hubs in the world, leading to great opportunities down the road, 2) cost - definitely the best value for your money to go to a state school over a private one, 3) clincial experience - definitely the most important reason for me. from talking to doctors in the area that I've known on a personal basis, I have heard from virtually all of them that when they were going through their residencies, downstate graduates were by far the most prepared and the residents that everyone else looked to for answers. considering that downstate matches extremely well (on the level of many top tier private schools) into residency programs, it seems like this anecdotal evidence is pretty accurate. anyway, best of luck to you in your application process and if you do get accepted, take advantage of the shadow-a-student program (you'll get more info on it) so you can follow one of us around and really see what it's all about.

Ditto, ditto, and ditto. I've only been here for a week, but the professors seem nice, very accessible, and are good lecturers.

 

[sicko]

Sorry guys, can someone please post the SUNY Downstate acceptance stats for last year? I have the US News & World Report book but SUNY Downstate didn't respond to their survey. And I am reluctant to buy MSAR just to look up the stats for one school.
Many thanks!

 

[emquiksilver]

Hi folks. I interviewed at Downstate a few days ago and forgot to ask a few questions. I would appreciate if you guys can answer them for me.

1. What is the new building they're constructing across the street from the school? Does it have anything to do with the med school?

2. Does Downstate offer a second look?

Thanks!

 

[NewHope]

Hey guys!

Sorry if it was asked before, but I couldn't find it.

Does SUNY (dwn st) accept nontrad (35+ y.o)? Stats are pretty good, and otherwise I've been an RN for 16 yrs, and have a Master's in another health field.

TIA

 

[garoldee]

hey, i'm an MS1 here at Downstate, and i know of 5 or6students in the class who are 35+, so yes they do accept them. good luck and hope to see you next year

 

[NewHope]

hey, i'm an MS1 here at Downstate, and i know of 5 or6students in the class who are 35+, so yes they do accept them. good luck and hope to see you next year

Garoldee!
I really appreciate the info. I guess there is always a hope or in my case a "NewHope" 😉

Thanks

 

[Nataliemay24]

hi downstate students/hopefuls. i was hoping to get an answer to some questions (even though this is a bit of a weird informercial thread). what's the grading policy like at downstate? how are honors determined (everyone who gets over a certain percentage, or a certain percentage of the class)? any more info in this vein would be appreciated. tia.

 

[Soggun]

For all blocks with the exception of ECM (Essentials of Clinical Medicine - which runs throughout the first two years and involves more of the social aspects of medicine and how to talk to patients and such), grading is either Honors, High Pass, Pass, or Fail. There is always a set percentage for honors (usually ~90%), high pass (usually around ~84-85%), and pass (usually ~68%), but though they don't curve individual exams, they will curve the entire blockand lower the cutoffs if enough of the class doesn't do so great. Sometimes the curve is only one or two points sometimes it's more significant.

With ECM you can get an Honors, Pass, or Fail, but you need to pass all of the exams (it is a competency-based course). Also, honors is pretty hard to get in ECM because you not only have to get over 89 or 90% on all exams, but also be recommended for honors by your small group facilitators.

Think that's about it. Hope it helps.

 

[Nataliemay24]

thank you, that's what i wanted to know.

 

[Kfire326]

It's been a while since I've been on here, but I figure I can answer a couple questions.

Sorry guys, can someone please post the SUNY Downstate acceptance stats for last year? I have the US News & World Report book but SUNY Downstate didn't respond to their survey. And I am reluctant to buy MSAR just to look up the stats for one school.
Many thanks!

Our class is split exactly 50/50 male/female. Avg age was 24.12yo. As far as academics, I don't have the info in front of me but from what I remember avg. overall GPA was 3.65ish, with the avg MCAT being around 30.7.

Hi folks. I interviewed at Downstate a few days ago and forgot to ask a few questions. I would appreciate if you guys can answer them for me.

1. What is the new building they're constructing across the street from the school? Does it have anything to do with the med school?

2. Does Downstate offer a second look?

Thanks!

1. That building will be (is?) part of Kings County Hospital. That's all I know...

2. They have the shadow-a-student program after your interview. As far as I know, they don't have an official 'second look day' or anything like that. At least that was as of last year when I applied.

 

[nowanmd]

To Newhope and other nontrads i went to downstate in the 1990s and I'm a Board Certified Internist today. I'm pretty sure we had at least 15 students in my class over the age of 30. So you guys are in good company- good luck🙂

 

[Nataliemay24]

I'm looking to stay with a current Downstate student for my interview there on the 15th, so if anyone might be willing to host me, I would really appreciate a PM. Thanks very much!

 

[emquiksilver]

It's been a while since I've been on here, but I figure I can answer a couple questions.



Our class is split exactly 50/50 male/female. Avg age was 24.12yo. As far as academics, I don't have the info in front of me but from what I remember avg. overall GPA was 3.65ish, with the avg MCAT being around 30.7.



1. That building will be (is?) part of Kings County Hospital. That's all I know...

2. They have the shadow-a-student program after your interview. As far as I know, they don't have an official 'second look day' or anything like that. At least that was as of last year when I applied.

Thanks Kfire. Much appreciated.

 

[Nataliemay24]

More questions for anyone willing to answer!

Does the school provide packets with all your notes in it? I really liked that about the other school I'm considering (not that I can say I'm "considering" Downstate until I actually get in, though, I guess...). Every few weeks the students get a bound notebook of typed-up notes from the professor and the students just highlighted it, made notes in it, etc.

What is this "Emerging Concepts in Medicine" thing that third and/or fourth years have to take for TWO WEEKS? I saw it in the list of clerkships.

Thanks! It's much more fun to think of questions about Downstate than it is to remember why I want to be a doctor (haven't had an interview since October so I've kind of forgotten my eloquent answer, haha).

 

[Soggun]

More questions for anyone willing to answer!

Does the school provide packets with all your notes in it? I really liked that about the other school I'm considering (not that I can say I'm "considering" Downstate until I actually get in, though, I guess...). Every few weeks the students get a bound notebook of typed-up notes from the professor and the students just highlighted it, made notes in it, etc.

What is this "Emerging Concepts in Medicine" thing that third and/or fourth years have to take for TWO WEEKS? I saw it in the list of clerkships.

Thanks! It's much more fun to think of questions about Downstate than it is to remember why I want to be a doctor (haven't had an interview since October so I've kind of forgotten my eloquent answer, haha).

Can't speak to the Emerging Concepts in Medicine course as I'm only an MS1(though it sounds like something designed to make students aware of new ideas about diagnosis and treatment of patients). As far as the packets go, we do get basically a full binder of notes for each block. How good the notes are depends on the lecturer, but they all pretty much at least loosely follow the lecture and give you something to study from ahead of time. Some even include the slides that are going to be used in class, though that is more rare. For the most part they are just summaries of the lecture.

To supplement that, we also have a transcript service that puts those up within a week after any given lecture (and also has lectures from previous years up, which are pretty much the same). Additionally, the slides for each lecture are posted either the night before or after depending on the lecturer.

 

[Kfire326]

More questions for anyone willing to answer!
Does the school provide packets with all your notes in it? I really liked that about the other school I'm considering (not that I can say I'm "considering" Downstate until I actually get in, though, I guess...). Every few weeks the students get a bound notebook of typed-up notes from the professor and the students just highlighted it, made notes in it, etc.

What is this "Emerging Concepts in Medicine" thing that third and/or fourth years have to take for TWO WEEKS? I saw it in the list of clerkships.

To add to what soggun said, I think the general consensus amongst the class is that the notes are a great resource. The notes are the learning base, i.e. all test questions will be based oninfo in the notes (but won't necessarily be strictly factual), and probably 95+ % of the time, everything is covered in class (you'll be told if there's something additional in the notes that you're still responsible for).

Keep in mind, the notes are not the only resource available, and you'll find yourself studying differently from block to block, and from lecturer to lecturer. Personally, I didn't read textbooks or the notes at all for our Anatomy-heavy Musculoskeletal and Head + Neck blocks - I studied from slides, my class notes, and transcripts/podcasts. Now, in cardio/respiratory (not much anatomy) I rely heavily on the notes because there's a lot of physiology to understand.

And sorry, I also don't know what Emerging Concepts in Medicine is, but I agree with sogguns title analysis.

 

[mdstudent08]

Nataliemay

I am a current MS4 and I can give you a better idea about the clerkship years which are what Downstate is really well known for. The clinical experience you get at Downstate and Kings County cannot be matched by another med school.

Emerging Concepts in Medicine is a 2 week course that is kinda like Essentials of Clinical Medicine (the non-science ethics-type class we take throughout med school). All 4th years have to take it in March in addition to two days of Transition to Residency. For this reason, March is blocked off in terms of electives. March is also when all the fourth years find out where they have matched.